


We'll Be Together

by mcgarrygirl78



Series: Feels Like Heaven [43]
Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: F/M, Family, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-01
Updated: 2016-08-01
Packaged: 2018-07-28 15:18:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7646347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ed held her hand a little tighter as if he could save all three of them if something crazy happened right at that moment.  He always tended to do that when they crossed a street.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We'll Be Together

Ed jogged around the corner and saw his family standing outside the restaurant. It was drizzling but that didn’t seem to bother them very much, Caitlin was on her phone.

“I'm sorry I'm late.” He kissed his daughter, then his middle son, then Noah, and finally Liv. “Where is your brother?”

“He's later than you, Dad.” Jason said.

“Late.” Noah repeated.

“Yes,” Ed smiled. He rustled Noah’s brown hair. “Clearly.”

“He sent me a text.” Caitlin said. “The train is delayed, he should be here in about 15 minutes. He wants us to get a good table.”

“Alright, well, let's get in there.” Ed put his arm around Jason. “There will be six of us so I was hoping they had a big, round booth available.”

“They have three of them here.” Liv said. She was transferring Noah from her arms into Ed’s.

They walked into the Ruby Tuesday on Seventh Avenue and asked for a table for six. Before Ed could even ask, the host asked if they wanted a big booth. Three people said yes in unison. There was some laughter and then someone was taking them toward the back of the restaurant. It was a Tuesday evening, kids ate free until closing. The place wasn’t packed but there were plenty of families there taking advantage of someone else cooking for them on a rainy summer night.

“Do we get to hear all about Paris?” Caitlin asked. She was helping Noah into his booster seat.

“We don’t want to hear everything.” Jason said, making a slight face.

“No one needs the dirty details but we all know dad and Liv have a kickin sex life.”

“Hey.” Ed made a face. “Dad and Liv do not have a kickin sex life.”

“Oh my god, you don’t?”

“Cait…”

“What your dad means,” Liv put her hand on Ed’s arm. “Is that our intimate life is personal and we’re sure you guys don’t want to hear anything about it.”

Jason felt vindicated and Caitlin felt cheated. Noah didn’t care either way, he was just glad he got the crayons and coloring page to himself.

“I saw some of the pictures on Instagram and it looked beautiful.” Jason said. “It seemed to rain a lot though.”

“It did a few times but it didn’t damper any of our fun.”

“Next time I'm going.” Cait said.

“Jason, are you interested in doing some international travel?” Liv asked. 

The two of them didn’t talk much. Ed always said that Jason was a lot like his mother, though he loved his son dearly. But Liv saw a lot of Ed in him. He was intelligent, quiet, observant, and sometimes incredibly blunt. She wanted to get to know him better but so far he kept her at arm’s length. He was never rude and she would never stop trying.

The server arrived with menus and everyone asked for water and a variety of different beverages. Sean walked up and ordered a beer. His father just looked at him incredulously as the server nodded and walked away.

“Seriously?” Ed asked, getting up to hug him.

“I like to see where I won't be carded. Looks like Seventh Avenue might be a good hangout. Liv,” Sean leaned over his dad to kiss her cheek. “You look as beautiful as ever.”

“Thanks Sean.”

“You smell like cologne.” Ed said. “And you're only having one beer.”

“I'm a guy, dad; I wear cologne.”

“I've never smelled that one before.”

“Well you don’t live with me anymore so you’ve missed my new grooming habits.” Sean said.

“When I was your age I didn’t groom.” Ed said.

“Dad, please.” Caitlin laughed. “You had that haircut since you were nine.”

The kids laughed and so did Liv. Ed just smirked. It was true, he had pretty much had the same haircut since he was a kid. There wasn’t a lot of room for argument there. Jason picked up the conversation where it left off.

“Paris wasn’t really on my list of places to see.” He said. “I want to travel to Germany, maybe Moscow. But I really want to see the Middle East; Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon. I'm going to become a teacher and would love to teach overseas.”

“What do you want to teach?” Liv asked.

“Math. The language barrier is an issue but I’ve been taking Arabic and Hebrew in school…I'm doing well in both. My mom’s like a quarter Jewish but I don’t think that makes me a legitimate citizen of Israel.”

“Mom is a quarter everything.” Caitlin said. “A lot of people had to hook up to create our grandparents.”

The server was back with water, beer, and soda. They'd all been there before and mostly knew what they wanted to order. Sean hadn’t but he thought the double decker chicken was his speed. He also asked them not to skimp on the fries.

“So what's going on for the end of the summer?” Ed asked.

“I'm in debate camp for three weeks starting Monday.” Jason said.

“Lacrosse of course.” Caitlin said. “I was gonna do some work at Michael’s office and it was gonna be $10 an hour too but it clashes with some of my practices. That sucked. But I make out well babysitting the McHale twins down the street from us. I'm getting a new iPhone.”

“Sean, are you taking summer classes?”

“First session is over and I took two but not this session. I just wanna chill before fall semester starts back up again. I got some good hours back at Sugar Mom’s, working the door, serving, you know, whatever. I can usually get like 30 hours a week, more if someone doesn’t show.”

“There's always a good chance someone won't show.” Ed said.

“Don’t I know it.”

“Do you mean the drag club Sugar Mom’s?” Liv asked.

“They only do drag on Fridays and Saturdays now. Most other nights its indie bands, burlesque, or even improv. And once a month they have Man Crush Monday with the male dancers. I love working that night, tips are glorious. Fortysomething women are very generous.”

“They actually watch men take off their clothes and throw money at them?” Jason asked.

“Sure. We watch women do it.” Sean said. “I mean, some dudes do.”

“Good save.” Caitlin leaned over to pinch them.

“Thanks.” Sean smiled and looked just like Ed. “What about you guys, I saw the Paris pictures and they were great. You must have had fun because I texted dad a couple of times and got some serious two word responses.”

“Roaming charges were awful.” Ed said.

“We had a great time.” Liv said. “I think it’s going to be one of those trips I never, ever forget. We talked about doing Disney next year and taking everyone.”

“Would we do Universal and Marvel and anything associated with Star Wars?” Jason asked.

“The Geek Strikes Back.” Sean laughed some.

“Sure.” Ed nodded. “It’s a huge park system down there now, I think we could probably devote a whole day to a different place and never see it all.”

“We just can't go in August or September.” Caitlin said. “All it does is rain in Orlando. June would probably be best but the most expensive time. What if we did it around school spring break then it would be off season. That would be much cheaper…they're looking to fill rooms then.”

“Once we find out when you guys are out of school that’s definitely worth considering.” Liv said. “Good plan, Cait.”

“I watch the Travel Channel a lot. I know things.” Cait nodded.

“Gone.” Noah pushed his cup and straw to the side and got on with his coloring.

“Oh wow,” Liv unstrapped him from the booster seat. “I'm going to take someone to the bathroom before dinner arrives. C'mon, bud.”

Ed got up so that they could get out of the booth. Once Liv was out of earshot, Sean leaned over to talk to his father.

“Please tell you asked Liv to marry you.” He said.

“In Paris?”

“I don’t care if it was this morning.” Sean replied. “I just hoped you asked.”

“I haven’t.”

“Dad.” Caitlin moaned. “Seriously?”

“Don’t you think you guys would've been the first to know?” Ed countered.

“Do you have a plan?” Sean asked.

“Do you have a ring?” Caitlin asked.

“I'm gonna answer sort of to both of those questions.”

“How does one answer sort of to do you have a ring?” Sean asked.

“What about you, Jason? You wanna chime in on why dad hasn’t proposed to Liv yet?”

“When you do, just make sure you don’t put the ring in a wineglass or in dessert.” He replied. “That’s how people end up in the emergency room. I don’t think Liv would be happy if she had to poop out her engagement ring.”

“Gross.” Cait giggled.

“You’re probably right about that.” Ed said.

“Shh,” Sean said. “I think she's coming.”

Jason snickered, which sounded like a combination of his mother and Muttley the dog from the Wacky Races. Sure enough Liv and Noah were coming back; Ed got out of the booth again. He made sure that Liv had Noah nice and secure in his booster seat before sitting back down.

“What were you guys talking about?” Liv eyed them all suspiciously. “Did I miss something?”

“We were just talking about the romance and beauty of Paris.” Ed replied. “And the shocking roaming charges.”

“I peed, Daddy.” Noah said.

“You did, bud? Well that’s a good job, gimme a high five.”

Noah grinned and slapped his tiny hand against Ed’s big one. The older kids knew that Noah was calling their dad daddy now and it didn’t seem to bother them. Caitlin was in fact over the moon about it. Sean already had taken him out on little brother trips a few times and Jason hadn’t expressed any negativity toward the development. His kids knew this relationship with Liv was serious. 

The couple lived together in Liv’s Tribeca condo and were co-parenting her son, who was almost three. They watched their dad change for the better. He had always been a good man, and a great dad even when he couldn’t always be there. But something had been missing from his life. It wasn’t just a woman, Ed had dated a few times before that the kids knew of. 

It was love, it was someone who could make him a better person and want to do more than live and breathe the NYPD. He'd earned every stripe on his shield and every promotion but those things didn’t keep you warm at night. They didn’t make you more human. Liv did that. She made him smile and laugh. She brought out the snarky, goofy side of him that had been buried for a while and had gotten harder to reach. 

Ed opened his heart and his mind again and his kids saw not who he used to be but who he had the potential to be. As much as he kept an eye on them, their grades, their friends, their extra-curricular activities, because he wanted to make sure he was raising good kids, the Tucker kids wanted to make sure they were raising a good dad. Each one, at 14, 16, and 19, had decided in their own separate way and with the occasional sibling chatter that the baton would be passed to Olivia. She would love him, take care of him, never break his heart or break his trust. 

She would give him another son to love and be proud of and not have to miss as many t-ball games. This was a good relationship, a strong one, so they were anxious to see it take the next step. Once dad was happy, settled into a good family, they could all grow up together with one less worry on their shoulders. Mom was fine, now it was time to take care of dad.

“Aww man, I should've gotten the double decker chicken.” Jason said as two servers arrived carrying large trays.

“That New York strip looks great, kid.” Ed said. “A growing boy needs protein.”

Caitlin was happy with her parmesan shrimp pasta. Liv was pleased with her baked ravioli but she spent her time cutting up Noah’s grilled chicken to nugget size so he can pop them right into his mouth. He had a plastic fork to eat his mac and cheese. Ed was ready to sink his teeth into the half rack of baby back ribs, mac and cheese, and grilled asparagus. This was going to be a good meal.

“How does everything look?” the server asked with a smile.

“It looks terrific.” Ed said. “I'm sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

“I'm Jen. There are three Jens on shift tonight. I'm usually referred to as tall Jen. So if you need something and can't see me, grab someone and ask for tall Jen.”

“Will do.” Ed smiled and nodded. “Thanks.”

“No problem, sir.” Jen smiled and walked away from the table.

“Dad, you should really get restaurant patron of the year.” Sean said smiling. “I don’t think I've ever been out with you and you haven’t gotten the server’s name and been all kind and semi-flirty with her. It’s a good gig.”

“The pay sucks.” Ed said. “But it makes the server feel good, so…”

“Yes, and it reaffirms that he's a total hero.” Liv said, smiling and putting her head on his shoulder.

“As much as I hate to say it, Liv is totally biased where this whole thing is concerned.”

“We all are.” Caitlin said.

“Well,” Ed smiled. “I guess that’s true. Alright, alright, enough about me…I want to know what’s going on with all of you. Liv and I were gone for ten days and I have to catch up. Did someone call Grandpa Jack and check in when I was away?”

***

“Are you alright?” Liv reached over to massage Ed’s shoulder and the nape of his neck.

“Mmm,” he closed his eyes as he stopped at a red light. “This traffic is fuckin horrible.” Ed lowered his voice because they had a mimicking toddler in the backseat. Checking the rearview mirror he saw that Noah was about three-quarters asleep but still trying to hang on. “I never understood why people in this city act as if it never rains. It rains all the time.”

“And bad traffic is all that’s on your mind?” Liv asked.

“No, but it’s the most prevalent thing. I’m glad I got to see the kids tonight. I'm glad my kids like you.”

“It was a good evening. I'm still working on Jason.”

“Jason is an introvert. When he wants something, he goes out and gets it…he goes hard. But he isn't so easy to get to know and get to the center of. With Cait and Sean you have to struggle to get a word in edgewise.” Ed smiled and moved with the traffic. “With Jason you wonder if he's not speaking because he might be planning your demise.”

“The way he stares reminds me of you.” Liv said.

“What way is that?”

“That glare; he has definitely got the Tucker glare.”

“I've glared at you a lot over the years, haven’t I?”

“Yep.” Liv smiled. “But your smiles mean more. You have the warmest smile.”

“I love you, Olivia.” He glanced at her.

“I love you too.” She rubbed his arm.

“So I went over it in my head a lot, in Paris. I just didn’t want to be cliché; I didn’t want to be rejected and have the entire trip be ruined. I probably opened my mouth a million times and nothing came out. I didn’t try to delude myself that I would be good at it but I'm shocked I'm this bad.”

“What do you mean? What are you talking about?”

“This is probably not the right place to have this discussion so I may as well just say it. Will you marry me? I know, maybe that’s not even on your mind and I get that. Sometimes I think you're telling me yes in how you act and the way you love me but other times I think I must be wrong. I don't know, I just love you baby. I want to be your husband, I want to be Noah’s dad. 

“I want to grow old together and find a nice house to settle down where we can drink beer on the porch and be happy. You swept into my life, in the most unimaginable way. I didn’t see it coming…it hit me pretty hard. I don’t want to imagine a life without you. You're like air, Liv, you're my joy. I can't even put the words together, and I apologize for that because you probably deserve a billboard or one of those planes with the messages on the back. Are you willing to take a chance on me?”

“I did that over a year ago.” Liv replied. “I don’t want to imagine my life without you either.”

In just a few more blocks they would be home. A strange silence fell over the car. Ed didn’t know what to make of it. He'd proposed, had done the thing he was afraid to do and Liv didn’t respond. Well she responded to his words with some words but she hadn’t answered. 

Was she going to reject him and was just looking for a graceful exit? Ed wasn’t worried, much, that Liv didn’t love him. He was almost not worried that she didn’t want to grow old with him. But marriage was a big commitment and maybe she didn’t want it. That was reasonable of course. He would never push something on her she didn’t want.

“Oh, don’t forget the second garage entry is closed for the next week. You have to turn down here or go two more blocks down.”

“Right,” he looked at her and managed a smile. “I remembered that.”

Liv smiled and rubbed his arm. She hadn’t answered his question and Ed hadn’t pushed for clarity. He had to be ready to burst but looked as cool as a cucumber. Liv wasn’t trying to drive him crazy, she was going over everything in her head. There was a lot to go over…there were things she promised to stop thinking about that she was thinking about right now. 

Could this really be happening? It wasn’t just about Ed but everything that came before him. Liv had given up, not so much in defeat but just letting herself believe it was never going to happen. It was OK, she could live and be happy. She could be a mom and a good cop and a great friend and didn’t need that particular relationship to define her. 

She’d had her share of bad and mediocre boyfriends. She had her share of intimate situations that weren't the healthiest. She'd felt the short spurts of joy and the crushing weight of failure. Ed Tucker was not perfect. He never claimed to be. But he was good and kind and so loving…Liv had only met a few people in her life as loving. 

Considering all he'd been through with his marriage that was surprising. She felt that she brought some of that out of him. Not just through their sexual relationship but their friendship and their love. He was an amazing father, an amazing friend, and an amazing man. This was her chance, all she had to do was grab it. Right?

“There’s a big umbrella in the trunk. I’ll get Noah.”

“OK.”

Ed parked in his space in the garage a few blocks from their apartment. He'd rented it a little while after they moved in together. He didn’t drive a lot but had the Crown Vic, or cop-mobile, as his kids called it, for a few years. Liv had given up her car. It had been used against her for trumped up murder charges and she never felt comfortable with it after that. So she took the trains like most New Yorkers and if she was going out of town, a rental car was just fine.

He carried the toddler and her the umbrella as they made their way out of the underground garage and onto the street. It was raining harder but not pouring. People were everywhere, as they always were in this neighborhood. The couple was quiet, Liv reached out and took Ed’s hand in hers. He was a strong man, she knew from experience that sleeping Noah was rather hefty but he was still doing it with one arm. That was a turn on.

“He's not getting wet is he?” she asked.

“Nope, he's fine. He's knocked out, I can't believe it since Cait shared her dessert with him. I expected him to bounce off the walls for a little while and need a bath to calm down.”

“It’s probably the weather. It’s perfect for a good cuddle and a great sleep.”

“You're right. I only wish it was Friday so we wouldn’t have to get up a daybreak tomorrow.”

“Daybreak isn't so bad when you can get seven hours.” Liv said.

“Love that optimism, Lieutenant.” Ed smiled.

“Do you really want to grow old together?” she asked him as they were crossing the street. Ed held her hand a little tighter as if he could save all three of them if something crazy happened right at that moment. He always tended to do that when they crossed a street. It was so endearing.

“Absolutely.” He nodded.

“I know your first marriage was tough. I know you lost a lot when you and Betsy split up.”

“It was a long time ago…but you're right.”

“I would never, no I don’t want to say that. Yes, that’s what I want to say.”

“Baby that was a very confusing sentence.” Ed managed to laugh though his stomach was churning.

“I'm saying yes, I’ll marry you. Yes we can grow old together on a porch and take vacations to Indiana and even Paris again. We can raise Noah and be there for Sean, Jason, and Caitlin. We can share our lives and love each other and miss each other when we have to be apart. Because we’re really already doing that.”

“Sometimes people get nervous when you talk about putting a ring on it.” He cleared his throat.

“One thing can't change…I keep my name. I'm pretty attached to Olivia Benson.”

“It’s yours.”

“So is all of me, Ed. It’s yours.”

“I'm going to kiss you, a lot, as soon as we have our hands free.”

“And give me a ring?”

“Soon, soon, I wanted to but I felt like I was jinxing something. I have the right one in mind.”

“I'm a size seven.” Liv said.

“That’s valuable information to have.” He looked at her. 

“I thought so.”

As they reached the front door of the condo, they switched hands. Liv took on Noah and Ed took the umbrella. She knew he liked to have one smoke to end his night and this was a good end. She’d put the toddler to bed, Ed would come up and they could relax. He held the umbrella up, lit the Marlboro Mild and took a deep inhale. His hand was shaking a bit but he wasn’t sure if it was nerves. He pulled his phone from his back pocket and called his son.

“Hey Dad.”

“Jason, I proposed to Liv and she said yes.”

“No way. When?”

“Um, approximately 20 minutes ago.” Ed replied.

“That’s great, Dad. Was she excited?”

“She was, it was calmer than one might imagine but it was very us. You’re my first call. I want you tell your sister. I'm sure she’ll call back to squeegee appropriately…”

“It’s squee, Dad, not squeegee.” Jason said.

“Right, squee, I got it. I'm just standing outside having a smoke and we’re going to settle in for the night. Gonna see if we can get seven hours of sleep.”

“Good luck with that.” Jason laughed some. “I’ll let you have your dirty habit before unleashing any information on Cait.”

“I appreciate that. I'm also glad you came out with us tonight. I know you're a very busy guy but we like to do the family thing at least a few times a month.”

“I'm glad I came too. And I'm glad that Liv makes you happy, Dad. I never quite thought it was fair that mom got the happiness and you were left out in the cold. I mean, I get it, parents divorce all the time. But Michael became our stepfather; we had no say. It was happening whether we liked it or not. And most of the time he's an OK guy but I was always worried that you wouldn’t find someone to make you happy. Liv is great.”

“Can I tell her you said so?” Ed asked.

“Of course. Do you want me to call Sean?”

“I’ll call him in the morning, knowing him he picked up a work shift. Get some sleep and we’ll talk soon. I love you, Jace.”

“Love you too, Dad. Goodnight.”

Ed slipped his phone back into his pants pocket. He most likely had a 10 to 12 minute window to finish his cigarette, go up to kiss Noah goodnight, and then Cait would call. She would probably be as animated as ever about the entire thing. And it wasn’t as if this wasn’t something to get excited about. Ed felt a fire in his belly that wasn’t going to extinguish any time soon. 

All he needed was a ring…he thought he knew the perfect place to find one. He wanted it to be as graceful, beautiful, and low key just like the woman he loved. Would something like that knock Liv off her feet? Ed wasn’t sure. But that was something that he wanted to do since she’d done the same to him over a year ago.

***


End file.
